HC reserves order on Masood plea agnst jail term in graft case

The Delhi High Court today reserved its order on appeals of Congress leader Rashid Masood challenging the trial court's convicting and awarding him four years sentence in a corruption case.
Justice Sunita Gupta reserved the judgement after the counsel for CBI and Masood concluded arguments in three different appeals filed by the convict.
Masood's counsel has sought suspension of his client's jail-term contending that the 68-year-old convict is acutely diabetic and is taking insulin several times a day besides other medicines for his ailments.
He has also submitted that the trial was going on against Masood for the past 17 years.

Masood was held guilty by the trial court in September last year of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allotted to Tripura in medical colleges across the country from the central pool as Health Minister in the National Front government of 1990. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on him.
Masood is the first MP to lose his seat after the July 10, 2013 Supreme Court judgement which had removed the immunity for convicted lawmakers.
Masood's conviction and sentencing was the first case after the apex court judgement that struck down a provision in the Representation of the People Act, under which incumbent MPs and MLAs could avoid disqualification till pendency of the appeal against conviction in a higher court.

Masood was held guilty of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC Sections 120B(criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery). He was, however, acquitted of the charge under Section 471 IPC (using as genuine a forged document).